My Dear Fried, My Love
by Jenna Darknight
Summary: The companion piece to That Night in Heimedall. Colette's POV ColettexLloyd


My Dear Friend, My Love 

A/N: This is a companion piece to my oneshot "That night in Heimidall". That one was told through Lloyd's point of view and this one is written in Collete's POV. It's based on the Lloyd/Collete conversation at Heimidall before you fight Kratos in a duel. Lots of Colloydness.

I looked around the room I was sharing with Sheena, Presea and the Professor. Regal, Zelos and Genis were all sharing a room too. Lloyd got a room to himself, which was fair, considering what he's going to have to go through tomorrow. I think Lloyd's drawn away from our group more and more since he found out Kratos was his father. When we started out the journey of Regeneration together he put on a brave face, even when he found out about the nature of his mothers death. Even after all the things that happened in Tethe'alla, he tried to be optimistic. Now it just feels like he's starting to give up and that worries me.

Lloyd has always been my closest friend. When I was little, a lot of children were either intimidated by my title or because I was different and either made fun of me or stayed away from me. Lloyd was different. He tried to be my friend though I sought no one out. He broke down every barrier I'd put between myself and the people of Iselia. He's been the one constant in my life. He's my closest friend; my ally and…I've come to feel for him like no one else. I love him. It's taken me forever to admit it to myself, but it's true. Getting up I looked over to Sheena, the professor and Presea were talking with the guys, and said, "I'm going out for a walk." She nodded and gave me this knowing smile. She knows how I feel about Lloyd, she's the only one I've been honest with about my feelings for him.

I paused, realizing that I was at the door of Lloyd's room. I swallowed, and knocked on the door. I heard a muffled, "What is it?" and entered. I saw Lloyd sprawled out on his bed, swords right next to it for easy access. His shirt was partway open, revealing his muscular chest. I don't really think he realizes how handsome he really is. His messy chestnut hair and piercingly deep brown eyes that sometimes seem like they can see into your soul…many times I have a hard time looking at him and speaking. Although I don't think he'd agree, he does bear a strong resemblance to Kratos. He was giving me an odd look and I realized I'd been staring at him for several minutes. I quick brought my eyes down to the floor and asked, "Are you still up?" I could have just slapped myself right then, of course he was still up, otherwise you wouldn't be talking to him. He chuckled slightly and I looked up to see a small half smile on his lips, "Nah, I couldn't really sleep." I looked down at the floor again, mustering my courage and managed to stutter out, "The stars are so pretty, D-do you want to come see them with me?" The question hung in the air for a moment and I heard Lloyd say, "Okay, but just for a little while." I brought my head up and felt a grin on my face.

We walked out towards the entrance of Heimidall. My face felt hot. I knew I was blushing because of our proximity and out of happiness. The stars were radiant, looking like a million diamionds mounted in the sky. "Wow, they look like they could come down at any second!" Lloyd chuckled slightly and said, "Yeah…" I looked over at the river, I just wanted to stay like this, near him, "You know, it still feels strange. The fact that I'm still here, talking." I could feel his eyes on the back of my head,"how come?" "My grandmother told me that I could never return to the village once I left on the journey to regenerate the world so when I talked to you that night before leaving Iselia, I thought it would be the last time. But I'm still here right beside you." Lloyd was silent for a while, I looked over to him and was surprised in what I saw in his eyes. They were full of anger, self-loathing, sorrow, and another raw emotion that I couldn't read. The intensity of his eyes surprised and frightened me a little. He hadn't seen me look at him, he turned away from me and walked towards the pench by the entrance. "And that's the way it will be." I snapped out of my thoughts and said, "Hmm?" "Cruxis is gone. And tomorrow…when I win against Kratos and have him remove the seal, the worlds will be reunited. You won't have to worry anymore." I looked at him surprised, "…So you're going to fight Kratos?" He turned his head so that I could barely make out his profile, "I…have to." "But, he's your father!" That last phrase came out a little more angrily than I had intended, but I was surprised. He shook his head, "It's because he's my father that I have to fight." "W-Why?" He turned his head so all I could see was the back of his head. "He wants to settle things. He wants to settle things with his own past. That's what it feels like to me." He turned back to face me and I saw his expression, it was tired, worn down and serious; not at all the Lloyd that I knew. "I guess you're right. After all, he saved us." "Yeah. and…I also want to settle things myself." I looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "I've spent this whole time expecting you to do everything. I just took it for granted that you're the only one who could regnerate the world. I never questioned that." "You didn't know; it's not your fault. And besides, you saved me, just like you promised you would." Lloyd opened, then closed his mouth as if he'd thought better of what he was going to say. Then he said, "But, because of that, a lot of people lost their lives. I have to shoulder their sacrifices. For their sake and mine…I have to defeat the Kratos of the past." I walked forward and nodded, "I understand Lloyd." He was staring at me with that same unreadable emotion in his eyes, "Lloyd, is something wrong?" He quickly turned his head away, a light blush staining his cheeks, and he stuttered, "N-no, nothing's wrong." He was lying, I could tell, "You're a terrible liar, Lloyd." Lloyd turned towards me, his expression was almost as surprised as I felt. I had no right to call him on something like that! Didn't I do the exact same thing when I was going through the angelic tranformation process? "What?" I continued, against my better judgement, after that question, I needed to know, "I know something's wrong. You've been acting differently since the last fight against Mithos. You've been eating less, sleeping less. Also, you won't look anyone in the face, especially me. What's wrong?" For some reason, Lloyd smiled slightly. He answered slowly, carefully picking his words, "It's just…I've been coming to terms with something. It's been on my mind since you lost your soul and I've been thinking about it more and more…" He started to drift off and simply looked at me as I came closer, "Lloyd?" I realized how close we were, almost standing toe to toe, I could feel his breath, it was definitely making it hard to concentrate. Lloyd opened his mouth and shut it again, almost as if unable to speak, then he did something I never would have suspected he'd do. He kissed me. At first I was too shocked to react, but I then relaxed into it and responded. He slid his hands slowly down my back, settling to rest in the small of my back. I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, working my fingers into his taloused hair. I'd had fantasies about this, but none of those could ever compare to what I was experiencing right now. Eventually, we broke apart due to the lack of oxygen. I could feel myself panting slightly with a blush still on my cheeks. Lloyd was also panting slightly but he was looking at me, trying to read my response. However, my mind was still reeling, he'd kissed me! Lloyd Irving had kissed me! "L-Lloyd…did you just-?" It slipped out before I could recover. He nodded and said with conviction, "Collete, I've been meaning to say this for a long time…I love you." My mind just about stopped when he said those last three words. He loved me! I had always wanted this, but never did I think that he truly would-but, he does-love me! I felt elated, humbled and frightened all at the same time. Lloyd looked at me uncertainly, "Collete, if you don't feel the same-" Before I'd even realized it, I'd put a finger on his lips, "Lloyd, don't appologize for what you just did or what you feel. I've felt something for you for a long time now, I just never had the courage to say it: I love you, Lloyd." He looked at me for a minute then slowly grinned and, under the star-studded sky over Heimidall, kissed me again. I don't know if anyone was watching us, but I couldn't have cared less. All that mattered was Lloyd and our kiss.

Yay for the romance! Lloyd and Collete make such a cute couple. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.


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